Pawn-shop operator and payday-loan chain Ezcorp Inc. (Nasdaq: EZPW) shares rose 7.1% late Monday to $34.33, after Sterne Agee analysts raised the stock to buy from neutral. Volume for the stock of 802,000 more than doubled its daily average.

According to a story Monday on Forbes.com, Sterne Agee Analyst Henry J. Coffey Jr. raised his rating on Ezcorp to “Buy” from “Neutral,” and boosted his forecast for the company’s 2012 earnings per share to $3 from $2.75. He also estimates Ezcorp will post earnings of $3.55 per share in 2013.

The site goes on to say that, despite the heightened scrutiny on payday lending, Ezcorp has seen continued growth in the U.S. and elsewhere, Coffey wrote in a research note Monday.

In March, the company announced a joint venture with Cash Converters that will push loans, pawn lending and other services in several international markets. In April, Ezcorp acquired the Canadian Cash Converters franchise. It also plans to reposition its Cash Max stores as Cash Converters and build out about 20 Cash Converter stores per year.

Based in Austin, Texas, EZCORP is a leading provider of specialty consumer financial services. It provides collateralized non-recourse loans, commonly known as pawn loans, and a variety of short-term consumer loans, including payday loans, installment loans and auto title loans, or fee-based credit services to customers seeking loans. At its pawn stores, the company also sells merchandise, primarily collateral forfeited from its pawn lending operations.